A known drive switching apparatus switching a four-wheel-drive vehicle to three drive states of the vehicle includes a drive switching member which can be displaced to three shift positions corresponding to the three drive states, an output member connected to the drive switching member and operating the drive switching member by being rotated, a gear driven and rotated by an electric motor, output shaft of the gear being rotatably connected, a rotation absorption mechanism interposed between the output shaft and the gear, and absorbing rotation of the electric motor in a case where the electric motor rotates and the output shaft cannot operate, and a shift position detection portion detecting a shift position of the drive switching member (for example, refer to Patent document 1).